OCTOBER 17, 2000

Provera blasts Prost over partnership

PEUGEOT sporting director Corrado Provera has blasted Prost Grand Prix after claiming that the lack of respect for each other forced them to quit Formula One.

Provera said that the French manufacturer's obsession with becoming World Rally Champions put doubt in the mind of Alain Prost, chairman of Prost Grand Prix, as to their commitment to Formula One.

But Provera, who revealed that the engine supplier had wanted to continue powering Jordan when they switched to Prost for the 1998 championship, insisted Peugeot were always dedicated to becoming an F1 success.

"I can't explain the breakdown in relations," Provera said. "Perhaps one of the reasons was our commitment to rallying and the fact the Prost worried that our commitment to him might waver.

"I would have liked to carry on supplying Eddie Jordan at the end of the 1997 season, but that would have been seen as a lack of commitment to Prost. Now we know we've made the right decision in leaving F1."